But are these animals protected by the Protection of Animals legislation in Ireland?

The Protection of Animals Acts, 1911 and 1965 are the principal statutes which prohibit the maltreatment of animals.

Initially, the scope of this Act extended only to domestic or captive animals (Section 15 of the 1911 Act), a domestic animal being any tame animal, or any animal which had been sufficiently tamed to be put to use by humans. Captive animals are those whose freedom is curtailed by use of cages, pens, ropes, pinions, or other device. Animals in the wild remained vulnerable to wanton acts of cruelty under the 1911 Act.

The 1965 Act, however, extended the definition to include all wild animals, Section 13(a). By virtue of these provisions, it is now unlawful to commit acts of cruelty on any animal.

It appears that all wild animals are protected from cruelty including whales and dolphins in Ireland.

A government department tasked with licensing oil and gas exploration has a serious conflict of interest. It cannot protect the marine environment when it licenses activities which can physically harm marine life.